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which knife sharpener

What knife sharpener do you all use for your Shun kitchen knives and your serrated steak knives ?? A japanese waterstone? Those rods  ? Etc.....
Not in the budget for one of those  Ken Onion Work Sharpeners . Would like to stay around 50 bucks or so.
Jefferson .GA.  
Been egging since 1985 on a medium egg

Comments

  • Wow???? Nobody sharpens their knives???
    Jefferson .GA.  
    Been egging since 1985 on a medium egg
  • I use a Chef's Choice 130. As per the recommendations of Cook's Illustrated.

  • For $50 I'd use the spyderco sharp maker.
    Be careful, man! I've got a beverage here.
  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
    Take a look at the DMT Aligner sets. The aligner has 7 different angle settings, and there's a good selection of sharpening surfaces, including a tapered rod for serrated edges. Also consider getting a magnifying glass, because sharpening often leaves a wire bur along the edge thats to small to see (at least for me) but needs to be stropped off.
  • Mickey
    Mickey Posts: 19,669
    I take all my knives to a knife maker down the street. I also take a fifth of Tito's Vodka. It just works for me.
    Salado TX & 30A  FL: Egg Family: 3 Large and a very well used Mini, added a Mini Max when they came out (I'm good for now). Plus a couple Pit Boss Pellet Smokers.   

  • Raymont
    Raymont Posts: 710
    Japanese Whetstones 1k/6k and I am very happy at that price point, but they don't work on serrated blades.

    Small & Large BGE

    Nashville, TN

  • I have the Chef's Choice 120 and really like it. I wasn't able to find anything in your suggested price range that could sharpen my kitchen knives to an acceptable level within a reasonable amount of time. For a more portable system that works fine on my pocket knives, the Spyderco Sharpmaker is great.
  • laserdoc85
    laserdoc85 Posts: 577
    edited December 2013
    Do you guys use the SHUN honing rod also because of the 16 degree guide on it. I see I only have one side on the SHUN to sharpen but need to stay at that 16 degree angle. I also read those diamond stones dont last on shun knives. Is the DMT set the best way to go since I'm looking for 16 degrees.  But will this kit work on longer knives like a 8 or 10 inch blade. The YouTube video shows him using a short bladed hunting knife
    Jefferson .GA.  
    Been egging since 1985 on a medium egg
  • 500
    500 Posts: 3,177
    I found this knife sharpening service; http://www.mrleonardknifesharpener.com. You can ship to them. I'm thinking of using them. They look like they know what they're doing. This is not a recommendation, since I have not used them before.
    I like my butt rubbed and my pork pulled.
    Member since 2009
  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
    Please describe the Shun a bit more. I'm a little surprised you say that only 1 side needs sharpening. Both the usuba and deba knives have that edge, but most folks don't have those.

    I suppose on longer blades, the DMT adjuster gets clamped in several places along the blade.

    If anything, I'd be concerned that the diamond plates might be too aggressive, and would sharpen away to much blade. While the diamond plates won't, as far as I know, outlast water stones, with ordinary home use, I'd expect years of use before they needed replacing.
  • laserdoc85
    laserdoc85 Posts: 577
    edited December 2013
    The shun is a single-bevel knife of Japanese design The beveled side should be sharpened to 17-20 degrees, and the flat side should be finished at near 0 degrees..
    After reading more and more about these knives it may be best to just send them out to shun once a year in oregon to get sharpened and be done with it. The shun honing rod with the 16 degree guide near the handle maybe my best option for monthly touch ups. I would hate to screw up the edge on a $$$$ knife. Shun will sharpen for free,,I just have to pay for shipping
    Jefferson .GA.  
    Been egging since 1985 on a medium egg
  • I just ordered the Edge Pro the Apex Pro Kit 4 and it isn't cheap but it will put a razors edge on your knives. and it will sharpen Serrated knives to
     
     1 Large Big Green Egg
     1 Weber Kettle
     1 Weber Weber Smokey Mountain 18"
     1 Long Horn Off Set
     1 Bradley Smoker
     1 Weber Silver Gasser
     1 Weber Smokey Joe Small
     1 Orange Thermapen
  • I was in the exact same boat as you when I joined the forum. I hope you'll let me save you some time and money. (see this thread)


    I bought a $20 setup which was of course a complete pile of junk.I reached out to the forum and there are some great knife guys on here. I had never really given it much thought but quickly realized there was way more to this than I had ever known. 

    So I went out and really dug in- looked at the chef's choice deal, the spyderco, wicked edge, pro edge stuff etc. I realized that if I truly wanted razor sharp, long lasting edges that I was going to have to step it up to something like a multiple stone/strop setup or the other equivalents.  The chef mates are excellent for what they are but they are for maintenance only (will sharpen a dull edge but not repair or reset a damaged/lost edge). You do not want to use this on your shun anyway. They are like a sledgehammer when sometimes you only need a feather. I would run my crap hinkels through there but never my shun. 

    I wasn't going to spend $300-$500 on the expensive stone setups so I talked to they guy who sold me the shun and he recommended to get and learn to use a Japanese stone(s) It's actually German but recommended for Japanese blades whatever that means. This was also recommended by VI and many others on here who have a lot of experience with knives so I found a decent one for $70 and jumped right in. 

    I worked with that for 6-8 months and it was way better than the POS I paid $29 for but I could never replicate the sharpness of my Shun from the factory. My knives also tended to get dull fairly quickly and needed a lot of maintenance. It also scratched the hell out of my beloved shun knife and made it look like it was dragged behind a car. User error for sure, but that's kind of my point. 

    As I dug in deeper, I realized that to get the edge I wanted and to clean the scratches up, I would need a few more stones and a strop set up. Another $150+ to do it right. I wasn't feeling it so I started looking for something that suited me better

    After many months of messing around with the stone that I have (It's a 1000/400 grit combo waterstone) I took my knives to a pro who was set up at the farmers market by my house. She used a belt sander and multiple grit belts. My knives had never been so sharp and the edges lasted way longer than what I had been able to obtain. They also shined like mirrors. She didn't use any guides or anything like that. She did it all by hand. I didn't want to risk damaging my good knives by trying this myself so I just figured i'd take them to her as needed. 

    I kept my eyes open because I knew I wanted something better to use at home. I also knew I was not going to spend $300-$500 on the Wicked edge/pro-edge type setups that you really need if you are going to get serious about it. Having a very positive experience with the pro sharpener and her belt setup, as soon as I saw the Work Sharp, I researched it and knew quickly it was for me. I'll never need anything else and I'll never want for killer edges ever again. After spending over $100 and a year and a half of searching for something that did exactly what I wanted, I found it.  It is the cheapest and best way that I found to get what you really want- great edges that last- quickly and easily at home. 

    So now I have $100 worth of worthless (to me) relics that never worked as I wanted and ended up with the Work Sharp anyway. I actually ended up spending $250+ (including the Work Sharp)  by trying to make do with cheaper stop gaps when I could have spent $150 total and gotten the best possible tool for the job (for me anyway) from the start. Save the hundo on the junk and get the work sharp. If you have a shun knife, you will want something better in the long run. 

    All that being said, I'll gladly send you my $70 stone for free if you want to try something different.Its way better than any honing rod and it will get you in touch with how your knife really works. Its worth it to learn for sure. Just pay it forward to some other egger down the line. I hate to see you spend anything when I know from experience what you need will cost you more than $50. Play with that for a few months and then find a knife show where someone is doing a demo of the work sharp. Take your shun and see for yourself. Or pay $5-$10 to a professional sharpener if your town and see the results you can get compared to a stone/honing rods/chef's choice. I can do that in under 5 minutes at home now. I love it and you will not find a cheaper way to get those results. I tried for 18 months. 

    Say the word and the stone is on it's way. It's a great place to start your journey but you'll want more in the long run. 







    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • gdenby
    gdenby Posts: 6,239
    Sending them to Oregon is a reasonable solution. I do suppose there are sharpeners in your area that could do as good a job, but if you are using Shun free sharpening, the cost of mail will likely be close to the fee the local sharpeners will charge. (Local may give a faster turn around)

    The steel hone should be useful. While it may erode the blade edge a little, the steel rods are made for straightening slight waves caused by ordinary cutting. You might also want to get some very fine grit 1200+ wet/dry sandpaper, often found at auto part shops. After using the hone rod against the bevel, lay the flat side of the knife one the sandpaper on the smoothest surface you have. Lightly whisk the back side of the blade to remove any bur or roll over the rod use produced.
  • CPARKTX
    CPARKTX Posts: 2,095
    @The Cen-Tex Smoker - is thus the one you are referring to ($69 on Amazon.com)? What was the learning curve ? http://www.amazon.com/Work-Sharp-WSKTS-Knife-Sharpener/dp/product-description/B003IT5F14/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=228013&s=hi
    LBGE & SBGE.  Central Texas.  
  • The Cen-Tex Smoker
    The Cen-Tex Smoker Posts: 22,951
    edited December 2013
    CPARKTX said:
    @The Cen-Tex Smoker - is thus the one you are referring to ($69 on Amazon.com)? What was the learning curve ? http://www.amazon.com/Work-Sharp-WSKTS-Knife-Sharpener/dp/product-description/B003IT5F14/ref=dp_proddesc_0?ie=UTF8&n=228013&s=hi
    I got the Ken Onion edition which is $149. it has an adjustable edge guide, wider belts, and adjustable speed control for the motor. It also switches around and you can remove the guides so you can sharpen any blade (axes, lawnmowers...anything). 

    This one is a great deal for $69 but you can't change the grind angles. It's kind of one size fits all- which is probably fine for 99% of us. And it's way better than a stone or honing rod in my book. 

    here is the one I got: 


    Go figure, it's $129 today.................


    Keepin' It Weird in The ATX FBTX
  • double
    double Posts: 1,214
    If that's the one I'm ordering it today... Centex finish that Bloody Mary and let us know... ;-)
    Lynnwood WA
  • double
    double Posts: 1,214
    Thanks centex!
    Lynnwood WA
  • Work sharp does look nice. I take it you can get that 16 degree angle? My shun knives are new so I think it maybe a while before they would need something like this. That's why I asked about the shun honing rod for the once a month touch up
    Jefferson .GA.  
    Been egging since 1985 on a medium egg